This invention relates to a safety device for vehicles. More particularly, it relates to an anti-nose-dive safety system for vehicles.
Today, there is an increased awareness of the need for safer vehicles and, in particular, those used as passenger cars, so as to reduce the incidence of passenger fatalities, and injuries resulting from front end and head-on collisions. This has led to the development of improved bumper systems which are designed to absorb the force of impact of a car travelling at speeds of up to 5 m.p.h. without damage to the car's body.
This has also led to the development of air-bags which, located in the passenger compartment, are designed to inflate upon impact or collision, to prevent the passengers from being thrown forward against the windshield of the car, typically as a result of the front end of the car dipping upon impact. Collapsible steering wheels and padded dashboards have also been incorporated into new car models to further reduce the risk of injury during a collision.
While safety devices of this type have been found acceptable when the vehicles are travelling at relatively slow speeds, there has been general concern about their effectiveness at normal cruising speeds. Moreover, while these safety devices serve to minimize the adverse effects of the car nose-diving upon impact, so far as is known, none serve to directly eliminate this serious problem.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a novel safety system for vehicles which eliminates the problem of vehicle nose-diving upon collision and which controls the car's equilibrium to thereby place the occupants in a forward restraining position during the collision.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide such a safety system which is effective at normal cruising speeds so as to minimize the possibility of passenger fatalities and injuries resulting from front end and head-on collisions.
It is further object of the present invention to provide such a safety system which is relatively simple in design, economical to fabricate, durable, reliable in operation and which is readily adaptable for mass production on conventional vehicles.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide such a safety system which also minimizes serious damage to the vehicle's body and motor.
It is also a particular object of the present invention to provide a safety system having the foregoing attributes and characteristics which is especially suitable for small compact cars.